


Humiliation

by watcherofworlds



Series: Whumptober 2019 [25]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Prompt Fill, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 14:36:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21181070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watcherofworlds/pseuds/watcherofworlds
Summary: Prompt fill for Whumptober Day 25 "Humiliation"





	Humiliation

**Author's Note:**

> Felicity is in grade school in this, in case that doesn't come through in my writing

Felicity blinked back tears, feeling her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. She’d been on her way to the computer lab when someone had tripped her, and now she was lying sprawled on the linoleum floor of the hallway, the computer hard drive she’d spent a week building from spare parts scattered in pieces around her, having been broken in her fall.

“Aw, are you gonna cry?” someone, presumably the person who had tripped her, said in a tone of voice that made it plain that they were sneering. Felicity didn’t see who it was- she was too ashamed to look up from the floor. “You’re such a baby. No wonder your dad didn’t want you.” That hit a little too close to home, and now Felicity was fighting even more desperately not to cry. She didn’t want to give her tormentor the satisfaction.

_ Don’t ever let them see you cry, honey _ . Her mother’s words echoed in her head.  _ Don’t ever give them the satisfaction of knowing that they got to you. _ Letting those words giving her resolve, Felicity rose up onto her knees and started gathering up the pieces of the hard drive, ignoring the taunts and jeers coming from all around her. Maybe, just maybe, there was something salvageable in the mess. 

As she was reaching for the last piece within arm’s reach, someone, maybe the same person who had tripped her, or maybe someone else, kicked it away from her. She crawled forward on her hands and knees to grab it, but before she could reach it it was kicked away from her again. She crawled toward it again, only to have it be kicked away from her a third time. Gales of laughter went up from the crowd that had assembled to witness her humiliation.

By this point, Felicity had realized what game they were playing, and she refused to be a participant in it any longer. She sat back on her heels and refused to move, glaring at the ring of people around her through the still unshed tears in her eyes. She knew if she sat there and refused to be baited, if she stopped allowing herself to be put in a position where they could manipulate her and then mock her for doing exactly what they’d expected, eventually it would stop being fun for them and they’d give up and leave her alone.

As Felicity sat there, stock still, refusing to move, refusing to be anyone’s plaything, she watched the crowd begin to disperse, one by one. Finally, only one person was left, who Felicity realized must be the one who had started all this by tripping her.

“Whatever,” they said, seeing the triumphant smile Felicity could feel spreading across her face. “You’re still a whiny little baby. And a loser.” Then, having nothing else, no other scathing remark or supposedly clever barb, to throw at her, they turned and stomped off.

Alone at last, Felicity finished gathering up the broken pieces of the hard drive, dropping them one by one into her backpack. Later on she’d take the time to examine them and determine if any were still usable. Right now, though, she had places to be.

Leaping to her feet, Felicity continued on her original course to the computer lab, eager to see what she would get to learn there today, and even more eager for the end of the school day and the chance to share with her mother how her words had helped her to deal with bullies.


End file.
